International Journal of Urban and Regional Planning

Book review: Pineda, Victor Santiago (2020). Building the Inclusive City: Governance, Access, and the Urban Transformation of Dubai

Fung Kei Cheng — 2022-09-30

A book review without an abstract.

Land Acquisition in Pakistan: Loopholes in the Legal Framework and the Way Forward

Abrar Ahmed — 2022-09-30

In Pakistan, the process of compulsory land acquisition by the state results in a complex web of different social and economic problems. The involuntary purchase of land leaves the interest holders in a state of complete distress as they are not properly rehabilitated and resettled by the acquiring authority. This paper seeks to identify the inefficiency in process of compulsory land acquisition in Pakistan with a particular focus on the Land Acquisition Act of 1894. It will also expound upon the processes of land acquisition in some other common law jurisdictions like India and United Kingdom to understand the existing loopholes and identify the key areas for improvements so that the process of land acquisition in Pakistan be amended into a more efficient and equitable one.

The Challenges of Using Data in Urban Planning in Pakistan

Nabeel Shakeel Ahmed — 2022-09-30

As technology adoption and urbanization accelerate in Pakistan, there is an opportunity for urban planners to adopt new tools and enhance their skill set. While data collection and the use of geographic information system (GIS) tools are common in Pakistan already, little is known about how these are used in the everyday practice of urban planners, or the extent to which planning practice has incorporated innovative methods. Based on a series of interviews with planning practitioners and policymakers, this article presents research on the use of data in urban planning in Pakistan. It begins with an overview of the use, opportunities, and limitations of data in urban planning. The article then shares interview findings and identifies a number of challenges to the use of data in planning, classified into challenges regarding data access and reliability, data and digital literacy, and institutional challenges. As the research scope is limited, the article makes only tentative conclusions about the possible underlying reasons of these challenges that require further investigation and validation.

Developing Service Delivery Frameworks in Urban South Asia – the case for Process Mapping

Faisal Haq Shaheen — 2022-09-30

Viewed as the backbone of the ‘informal city’, migrant labourers and low income communities represent the largest populations of many medium and large sized cities in South Asia. The expanse and density of Dhaka (Bangladesh), Karachi (Pakistan) and Mumbai (India) testify to the unrelenting pace of growth across South Asia. Continued rural to urban migration will feed urban growth and class polarisation for years to come. In order to mitigate these challenges, policy reforms and intergovernmental coordination must be aligned to address service delivery to low income communities. This paper provides primary and secondary research on the condition of state and non-state efforts to extend municipal services to informal settlements and communities in some of South Asia’s largest mega cities. Given the complexity and fragmentation of data gathering across disciplines in urban contexts, a comparative policy approach is coupled with the ‘process tracing’ methodology to contrast positive and negative service delivery experiences across the three mega cities. Within each of the case study contexts (water, sanitation and solid waste collection), the agency of individuals and interests are seen to outpace the capacity of institutions in engaging the needs of low income communities. The findings from the ‘process tracing’ exercise point to the importance of engaging lower tier state and non-state actors for low income urban service delivery. These findings also emphasize that a labyrinth of municipal and provincial actors persists with opposing interests. As such, this requires clearly defined boundaries between intergovernmental jurisdictions and more specifically, service providers. It is within this space that the 'process tracing' method outlines how civil society actors have demonstrated an ability to monitor tensions across actors, bringing more transparency and where possible, accountability to the urban development process. Taken further, 'process tracing' can also ensure that the participation of donors (technical and financial) can enable results tied to specific outcomes. Case study evidence points to the centrality of lower tier state service providers and frameworks of accountability and transparency across urban governance settings.

What are the environmental consequences of rapid urbanisation? Critically discuss using examples from a city of your own choice.

Agha Khan — 2022-10-27

The following essay will examine the case of Karachi, Pakistan and the environmental consequences of rapid urbanisation in the metropolis. It is noteworthy to mention that due to the nature of the question, elaborated history, politics and other socio-economic factors generated through rapid urbanistion in Karachi will not be considered in this essay as they are a vast topic on their own. This paper will briefly define rapid urbanisation, followed by an account of urban growth trends in Karachi and it’s environmental impact. This essay will then analyze the true reasons why Karachi was ranked as one of the worst cities in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global livability Index 2021 and how the impact of rapid urbanization led to Karachi’s disorientation. A conclusion and way forward will also be expressed in the end of the paper.